New Build thread!

[djacinto]

Hey everybody! I come from the bimmerpost forums

My friend and I have been looking at a getting a new project car and came across a pretty good example of a 1992 735il and we will be heading down to look at it again on sunday, 10/4 to try and get it to start again

For this thread, I will be posting before/after pics on what we work on, and will be referencing @Cactuar as he has an excellent visual guide on a lot of servicing

I am excited for this project and I hope I can get the collective help from many of you

Thank you for stopping by!

[Cactuar]

Welcome to the forum!
I'm looking forward to seeing the progress on the car. Tell us more about it when you can.

[CroughtonE32]

Another welcome here. Always looking forward to see another one of our E32's saved. Post a bit here. Once you post a few questions and converse a bit it'll open you up to be allowed to post good pictures. Also when you get the car may I suggest you do the infamous Shogun Stomp Test. It'll tell you any fault codes you might have right from the start. It's easy and only takes a few minutes. And since you have a US version car and it's a 1992 you'll be able to do it. Have a pen and paper with you, sit in the front seat and follow these instructions. Again....welcome.

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...e-pedal-faults

[djacinto]

- - - Updated - - -

- - - Updated - - -

Welcome to the forum!
I'm looking forward to seeing the progress on the car. Tell us more about it when you can.

Thank you for the awesome content! your car is phenomenal, my current 4 series is imperial blue and is very similar to your's, BMW is pretty good with blues XD

I will definitely be reaching out a lot, so I look forward to speaking with you more!

- - - Updated - - -

Another welcome here. Always looking forward to see another one of our E32's saved. Post a bit here. Once you post a few questions and converse a bit it'll open you up to be allowed to post good pictures. Also when you get the car may I suggest you do the infamous Shogun Stomp Test. It'll tell you any fault codes you might have right from the start. It's easy and only takes a few minutes. And since you have a US version car and it's a 1992 you'll be able to do it. Have a pen and paper with you, sit in the front seat and follow these instructions. Again....welcome.

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...e-pedal-faults

Thank you! This is definitely in... project car state. It was so close to just getting running and the cosmetics were ok based on it's past owner ship.

It's not nearly as beautiful as yours but hopefully we can get there!

[Gborden00]

Hey Y'all, I am the other friend working on this E32. I have a video of it cranking that I can share at some point. Our current issue is pretty basic, but fundamental. NO START

So, we have new gas and a new battery in the car as of now. I bought some tools to test spark and fuel pressure. From what I can hear when cranking, it fires a few times but never gets off the ground.

According to the owner, it was running a few months ago and he assured me that it would do so again with a fresh battery. HA!

Any ideas, I think it might be fuel related, weak pump or gunked filters.

Will be doing the STOMP test sunday when testing spark and fuel pressure.

- - - Updated - - -

There are many issues we need help on but we definitely need to start here.

[djacinto]

Here is the video of the car @cactuar

[Gborden00]

She wants to!!

[Cactuar]

I also think it's fuel related. If it were a bad crank position sensor it wouldn't attempt to start at all.
It could be a weak fuel pump, you will know more after doing a fuel pressure test.

[djacinto]

I also think it's fuel related. If it were a bad crank position sensor it wouldn't attempt to start at all.
It could be a weak fuel pump, you will know more after doing a fuel pressure test.

Good to know! we will post more on sunday CST when we go

[paulmer]

Try spraying some starter fluid in when cranking -- can you hear it fire? That will help focus your troubleshooting, to confirm indeed a fueling issue and not spark

[CroughtonE32]

Might want to check your main relay. Many no start problems lead there. It's the white relay up where the ECU is............not in the main fuse box. Up near the firewall on the passenger side. Only white relay in the bunch.

[Gborden00]

How would we know that the really was not functioning?

[paulmer]

Relays are cheap. I'd recommend going to your local junkyard and getting a few as spares, or just buy on ebay

You need to download the ETK, the electronic troubleshooting manual. It has pinouts for relay sockets, etc. Then you can take your multimeter and check for voltage at the relay. Assuming you have voltage at relay, then you can proceed to swapping the relay.

But in my experience, if the car hasn't been driven, and having a non-start condition -- I would bet you $100 it's a dead fuel pump. Just ask me how I know -- I got my current 750 only a few months ago. Old owner almost never drove it. Last 10 years there were only 5k miles or so. I started driving it again a few days a week and bam, fuel pump died

[CroughtonE32]

Relays are cheap. I'd recommend going to your local junkyard and getting a few as spares, or just buy on ebay

You need to download the ETK, the electronic troubleshooting manual. It has pinouts for relay sockets, etc. Then you can take your multimeter and check for voltage at the relay. Assuming you have voltage at relay, then you can proceed to swapping the relay.

But in my experience, if the car hasn't been driven, and having a non-start condition -- I would bet you $100 it's a dead fuel pump. Just ask me how I know -- I got my current 750 only a few months ago. Old owner almost never drove it. Last 10 years there were only 5k miles or so. I started driving it again a few days a week and bam, fuel pump died

I agree, there will probably be a fuel problem. I just remember over and over again here, that "no start" problems after checking into everything else have many times boiled down to the main relay. It's like a 30 dollar fix, but I know Shogun knows how to remove check fix and replace it. I just lost the thread with the info. Just threw that out here as a possible cause.

[Gborden00]

Relays are cheap. I'd recommend going to your local junkyard and getting a few as spares, or just buy on ebay

You need to download the ETK, the electronic troubleshooting manual. It has pinouts for relay sockets, etc. Then you can take your multimeter and check for voltage at the relay. Assuming you have voltage at relay, then you can proceed to swapping the relay.

But in my experience, if the car hasn't been driven, and having a non-start condition -- I would bet you $100 it's a dead fuel pump. Just ask me how I know -- I got my current 750 only a few months ago. Old owner almost never drove it. Last 10 years there were only 5k miles or so. I started driving it again a few days a week and bam, fuel pump died

Okay so I’ll pick up stater fluid and try that as well, not sure if there are any E32 parts cars near enough for us to pull from :/

- - - Updated - - -

Do we think a check valve may me a temporary fix or just a totally new pump?

[CroughtonE32]

If you end up in the future needing the main relay Turner has it for a mere 16 bucks. I remember when these were four times the money. Things are getting cheap for these cars. https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-1...iABEgIk0PD_BwE

[paulmer]

The relays are common with quite a few other BMW models..I'm sure you can find some E36s which probably share a lot of relays with our cars

[Cactuar]

My 735iL only has 90k miles and the fuel pump was on its way out too. It made a loud noise, you could hear it at the back.
I replaced it with a new Bosch pump and now it's nice and quiet, and it's no longer a ticking time bomb.

Speaking of the fuel pump, if you want to hear it run without the engine running you could try jumping pins 87 and 30, in the fuel pump relay socket.
It's on the passenger side in the e-box (electronic box), just take off the large black cover by undoing the screws at each corner.
The fuel pump relay is the orange one under the white main relay. Like this.
Always use caution when jumping pins, the sparks could ignite fuel fumes if you have a large leak nearby. Unlikely, but thought I'd mention it!

I'm 99% sure that you'll hear a struggling fuel pump.

[djacinto]

B4B92F3C-42BA-4315-8CC0-E73A977355AD.jpegE9958426-639E-492F-8098-94077A78A6C8.jpgWe came earlier than expected! As many of y’all mentioned it is the fuel pump.
we will be ordering the part and hopefully be back on it by next weekend and will be running!
in the meantime, we need a name... any ideas?

[CroughtonE32]

The OEM pump was Bosch. They're a little over 200 bucks. There are plenty out there from 50-100. Depends what you want to spend. Cactuar spent quite a bit less and ended up with a fine pump. This is what the OEM pump looks like. I replaced it a 180,000. Mine was making a noise in the trunk that sounded like a hole in my rear or center muffler. I figured since the OEM pump lasted me 30 years I might as well put the same one in. https://www.autohausaz.com/pn/106572...CABEgJwzfD_BwE


Mu Mistake.....He did use Bosch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhYT...ature=emb_logo And a great video.

[Gborden00]

Do the self-leveling suspension modules from the E38 fit the E32?? They seem to be similar if not the same parts

[paulmer]

Keep the old wheels They look to be in excellent condition anyway. And much more of a rare sight compared to the chrome wheels

Make sure to put in new fuel filter(s) (unsure if there are x2 like on 740/750 on 735 cars) after replacing the pump.

BTW if the car has been sitting, you might want to drain the fuel tank if possible. Not sure I'd want to suck crappy fuel in to a new fuel pump/filter

[Gborden00]

Have the old wheels, though we needed some tires to get home on and the chrome ones came with tires for 70 bucks.

[djacinto]

our thoughts too, but we have to get it running and empty the tank and then we'll do the oil change

[djacinto]

Thank you, theyre ok but the hub caps are a little out of wack, plus we had to switch them out due to the previous tires extremely cracked